Stress is a psychological problem commonly experienced by university students, particularly during the transition period into higher education. This study aimed to identify the description of stress levels among first-year students of the Public Health Study Program, Faculty of Public Health. This was a descriptive study with a population consisting of all Public Health Study Program students of the 2025 cohort, totaling 170 individuals. Sampling was conducted using the total sampling method, and 90 respondents met the inclusion criteria. Stress levels were measured using a modified version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-42) instrument. The results showed that the majority of respondents were 18 years old (50%) and female (83.3%). The description of stress levels showed that most students fell into the moderate stress category (37.8%), followed by the normal category (26.7%), severe stress (18.9%), mild stress (14.4%), and extremely severe stress (2.2%). It can be concluded that more than half of first-year students experienced stress at moderate to extremely severe levels, indicating the need for psychological support efforts, particularly during the first-year transition period.